This anthology, edited and translated from togere’s original writing in bengali by Amitabha chaudhury ,comperises a selecation of some of Tagore’s essays on art ,literature religion and human nature . going beyond the usual contours of aestheies – meaning and context of art – book imbued with Tagore’s unique philosopher and categorically abhorred acidemicices- and he was not interested in building a coherent thorery of literature a art . this anthology is in a way essences of views on aesthetics and is a must –read for all those who wish to understand the life and mind of Rabindranath Tagore and his and his artistic ligancy , better.

About the Author

Amitabha chaudhury is a Bengali writer and has been writing since the 1970s. He also writes in English. He has published fourteen volumes of collections of poetry; three fictions; four collections of literary criticism and three full length plays. he has published several translations in bengali including orates trilogy by Aeschylus ,lsla negra by pablo neruda , collected poems of rainer maria rilke and anthology of 20 th century world poetry. He has also been regularly writing for various literary magazines.

Introduction

Ever since Plato denounced the ‘mimetic ‘poets and evicted them from his republic, literary concern has been raised against the philosopher’s tyranny. As Keats asked,”do not all charms fly at the mere touch of cold philosophy?”

And yet, poets particularly the romantics have tended to believes that as creator, the poet is a philosopher, for he discovers new truth. There is no philosophical, for he discovers new truth. There is no philosophical discourse without references to literature and there cannot be any criticism of literature without refer canes to literature and there connote be any criticism philosophy that has given rise to much confusion.

But philosophy, more than literature, has tended to assume the possibility of an unmediated immanence in which, all that it ends up being the being the “big story” of human origin. That story says that something like ultimate reatily exists and that human beings are capable of knowing it directly and completely,

On the other hand, literature has always been approaching this reality tentatively and with a certain amount of doubt and apprehension. This is the reason why literature has always been subjected to trial by philosopher has said about philosophers. What Coleridge said about poets, “NO man was ever yet a great poet without being at the same time a profound philosopher?”

The interests of literature and philosophy, however, tend to merge. Merge. A philosophy like Plato is a poetic philosopher and a poet like Shakespeare or Tagore is a philosopher and a poet. the merger of philosophy with poetry results in a bridge that connects literary particularity with poetry results in a bridge that connects literary particularity with poetry results in a bridge that connects literary particularity with philosophy reduces reality to order and intelligibility , but poetry teries to comprehend it in the fullness of fellness of feeling. Holder in, on the other hand saw the artist and not the philosopher as the interpreter of divine nature mediating between god and men.

What Coleridge said in the poet’s heart, which in essence is the “soul “residing in the thinking mind is what the Upanishads have referred to as the poet’s heart which in essence is the In fact, there has always been a conceptual premise that philosophy and literature, and in the broader sense, all creative arts, cannot be treated differently because they are inter-linked. In his “Transcendental Idealism “Friedrich Schelling explains the common internet of literature and philosophy : “art is the only trace and eternal organ and document of philosophy : “Art is the only trace and eternal organ and philosopher a new what philosophy cannot ordinarily repressed , namely , the unconscious in productive activity and original union burns in one flame what in nature and its original identity with the unconscious in productive activity and its original identity with the conscious. Just for this reason art is for the philosopher the apex, because it reveals to him the holy of holies, wherein the eternal and original union burn in one flame what in nature and history is surrendered, and what in life and action, just as in thought, must eternally flee itself.”

George Berkeley in his “Treatise concerning the principles of Human Knowledge” says that, philosophy is nothing but the study of wisdom and truth. Human knowledge is either ideas imprinted in the senses or as perceived by attending to the passions and operations of the mind; ideas so perceived are formed by compounding, dividing or barely representing memory and imaginations.” This definitions of philosophy ,in fact ,is fit to be declared as the definition of philosophy, in fact is fit to be declared as the definition of literature and all creative arts as well .

The romantics have made literature and art the cornerstone of philosophy. Shelley said that ethics in aesthetical terms is created by poetry and arranged by ethical science. “Poetry “, he says in ?A Defence of poetry”, ?acts in a divine manner. It awakens and enlarges the mind itself by rendering the receptacle of a thousand UN – apprehended combinations of thoughts. Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of beauty of the world in thoughts, actions or identifying ourselves with the beautiful which exists in thoughts , actions or person , not our own. A man to be greatly good must imagination.”

It will be wrong to assume that only the romantic era mingled poetry and philosophy in theory and the romantic era mingled poetry and philosophy in theory and practice. Indeed, the border line has and is always being crossed due to the contiguity of the two realisms that prompted novelist to say, ?...The transcendental poesy is compounded of philosophy and poetry.” Boccaccio writes “One can never escape the conviction that great men, nursed with the milk of the muses, brought up in the very deepest meaning in their poems.”

Even when philosophy and literature are considered as distinctly autonomous activities, there is a permanent relationship between them despite the differences in subject matter, methods, and effects. What is interesting is the fact that the two activities many different in all aspects of their manifestation. They deal with the same objects but follow different methods – one communicating truth about the object in the syllogistic from, the other inspiring feeling about it through figurative language. The deal with the same objective for both is a search to understand the mystery of life. There are, therefore, certain realms of interpretation of their contiguous cultural areas. The language of interpretation of their contiguous cultural areas. The language of literature renders a body of thoughts that engangs with questions of “Meaning” and “Being “ that creates the philosophical- literary relation .

There is this distinction that Greek philosophers made between ‘things perceived ‘and ‘things where as things thought’ by them as the object of logic,’things perceived was considered as the science of perception.

Philosophy of art is concerned with the interpretation, appreciations and the understanding Of the artworks . such study is with reference to the attitude and experience of art for its distinctive value comparable with moral , epistemic and religious values vis a vis the nature of beauty and taste

The question arises as to whether it should be understood as the knowledge, skill and intentions of the writer , or whether it should be interpreted and judged by social conventions , or whether it should be interpreted and judged by the meaning established by the practice of the user even if it is at variances with the meanings intended by the writer . What is of the concern is the nature of taste, structure, the ontological status of the artworks, and the character of our emotional responses.

When such philosophical enquiry is applied to literature and creative art, it is called “Aesthetics” a term first used by Alexander Baumgartner, in his “Reflections on poetry” (1735), He says, “I wish to make it plain that philosophy and the knowledge of how to construct a poem which is often held to be entirely antithetical, are linked together in the most amiable union.”Baumgartner defines “aesthetics “as the relation of art to perceived reality .He writes,”The branch of philosophy that examines the natural environment.” In this sense, Plato’s metaphysical, epistemological and ethic- policitical views about portey or literature is aesthetics.

This anthology, edited and translated from togere’s original writing in bengali by Amitabha chaudhury ,comperises a selecation of some of Tagore’s essays on art ,literature religion and human nature . going beyond the usual contours of aestheies – meaning and context of art – book imbued with Tagore’s unique philosopher and categorically abhorred acidemicices- and he was not interested in building a coherent thorery of literature a art . this anthology is in a way essences of views on aesthetics and is a must –read for all those who wish to understand the life and mind of Rabindranath Tagore and his and his artistic ligancy , better.

About the Author

Amitabha chaudhury is a Bengali writer and has been writing since the 1970s. He also writes in English. He has published fourteen volumes of collections of poetry; three fictions; four collections of literary criticism and three full length plays. he has published several translations in bengali including orates trilogy by Aeschylus ,lsla negra by pablo neruda , collected poems of rainer maria rilke and anthology of 20 th century world poetry. He has also been regularly writing for various literary magazines.

Introduction

Ever since Plato denounced the ‘mimetic ‘poets and evicted them from his republic, literary concern has been raised against the philosopher’s tyranny. As Keats asked,”do not all charms fly at the mere touch of cold philosophy?”

And yet, poets particularly the romantics have tended to believes that as creator, the poet is a philosopher, for he discovers new truth. There is no philosophical, for he discovers new truth. There is no philosophical discourse without references to literature and there cannot be any criticism of literature without refer canes to literature and there connote be any criticism philosophy that has given rise to much confusion.

But philosophy, more than literature, has tended to assume the possibility of an unmediated immanence in which, all that it ends up being the being the “big story” of human origin. That story says that something like ultimate reatily exists and that human beings are capable of knowing it directly and completely,

On the other hand, literature has always been approaching this reality tentatively and with a certain amount of doubt and apprehension. This is the reason why literature has always been subjected to trial by philosopher has said about philosophers. What Coleridge said about poets, “NO man was ever yet a great poet without being at the same time a profound philosopher?”

The interests of literature and philosophy, however, tend to merge. Merge. A philosophy like Plato is a poetic philosopher and a poet like Shakespeare or Tagore is a philosopher and a poet. the merger of philosophy with poetry results in a bridge that connects literary particularity with poetry results in a bridge that connects literary particularity with poetry results in a bridge that connects literary particularity with philosophy reduces reality to order and intelligibility , but poetry teries to comprehend it in the fullness of fellness of feeling. Holder in, on the other hand saw the artist and not the philosopher as the interpreter of divine nature mediating between god and men.

What Coleridge said in the poet’s heart, which in essence is the “soul “residing in the thinking mind is what the Upanishads have referred to as the poet’s heart which in essence is the In fact, there has always been a conceptual premise that philosophy and literature, and in the broader sense, all creative arts, cannot be treated differently because they are inter-linked. In his “Transcendental Idealism “Friedrich Schelling explains the common internet of literature and philosophy : “art is the only trace and eternal organ and document of philosophy : “Art is the only trace and eternal organ and philosopher a new what philosophy cannot ordinarily repressed , namely , the unconscious in productive activity and original union burns in one flame what in nature and its original identity with the unconscious in productive activity and its original identity with the conscious. Just for this reason art is for the philosopher the apex, because it reveals to him the holy of holies, wherein the eternal and original union burn in one flame what in nature and history is surrendered, and what in life and action, just as in thought, must eternally flee itself.”

George Berkeley in his “Treatise concerning the principles of Human Knowledge” says that, philosophy is nothing but the study of wisdom and truth. Human knowledge is either ideas imprinted in the senses or as perceived by attending to the passions and operations of the mind; ideas so perceived are formed by compounding, dividing or barely representing memory and imaginations.” This definitions of philosophy ,in fact ,is fit to be declared as the definition of philosophy, in fact is fit to be declared as the definition of literature and all creative arts as well .

The romantics have made literature and art the cornerstone of philosophy. Shelley said that ethics in aesthetical terms is created by poetry and arranged by ethical science. “Poetry “, he says in ?A Defence of poetry”, ?acts in a divine manner. It awakens and enlarges the mind itself by rendering the receptacle of a thousand UN – apprehended combinations of thoughts. Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of beauty of the world in thoughts, actions or identifying ourselves with the beautiful which exists in thoughts , actions or person , not our own. A man to be greatly good must imagination.”

It will be wrong to assume that only the romantic era mingled poetry and philosophy in theory and the romantic era mingled poetry and philosophy in theory and practice. Indeed, the border line has and is always being crossed due to the contiguity of the two realisms that prompted novelist to say, ?...The transcendental poesy is compounded of philosophy and poetry.” Boccaccio writes “One can never escape the conviction that great men, nursed with the milk of the muses, brought up in the very deepest meaning in their poems.”

Even when philosophy and literature are considered as distinctly autonomous activities, there is a permanent relationship between them despite the differences in subject matter, methods, and effects. What is interesting is the fact that the two activities many different in all aspects of their manifestation. They deal with the same objects but follow different methods – one communicating truth about the object in the syllogistic from, the other inspiring feeling about it through figurative language. The deal with the same objective for both is a search to understand the mystery of life. There are, therefore, certain realms of interpretation of their contiguous cultural areas. The language of interpretation of their contiguous cultural areas. The language of literature renders a body of thoughts that engangs with questions of “Meaning” and “Being “ that creates the philosophical- literary relation .

There is this distinction that Greek philosophers made between ‘things perceived ‘and ‘things where as things thought’ by them as the object of logic,’things perceived was considered as the science of perception.

Philosophy of art is concerned with the interpretation, appreciations and the understanding Of the artworks . such study is with reference to the attitude and experience of art for its distinctive value comparable with moral , epistemic and religious values vis a vis the nature of beauty and taste

The question arises as to whether it should be understood as the knowledge, skill and intentions of the writer , or whether it should be interpreted and judged by social conventions , or whether it should be interpreted and judged by the meaning established by the practice of the user even if it is at variances with the meanings intended by the writer . What is of the concern is the nature of taste, structure, the ontological status of the artworks, and the character of our emotional responses.

When such philosophical enquiry is applied to literature and creative art, it is called “Aesthetics” a term first used by Alexander Baumgartner, in his “Reflections on poetry” (1735), He says, “I wish to make it plain that philosophy and the knowledge of how to construct a poem which is often held to be entirely antithetical, are linked together in the most amiable union.”Baumgartner defines “aesthetics “as the relation of art to perceived reality .He writes,”The branch of philosophy that examines the natural environment.” In this sense, Plato’s metaphysical, epistemological and ethic- policitical views about portey or literature is aesthetics.

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